The Cipher Brief sat down with Charles Lister, Senior Fellow at the Middle East Institute, to discuss al Qaeda in Syria’s latest rebranding, how the group is expanding its influence across the country, and the implications for U.S. security.

Historically in Pakistan, Shiite militancy has remained reactive and selective. But with thousands of Pakistani Shiites being recruited and trained by Tehran, the landscape of sectarian militancy is likely to undergo a momentous transformation with a possibility of a head-on confrontation between militant fronts of the two opposing sects. This essay assesses the future impact of Shiite mobilization in Pakistan on the country and how it could transform the local sectarian conflict by fueling radicalization and increasing prospects for ISIS to penetrate and exploit local militant groups to its favor.

Jasmine El-Gamal, senior fellow in the Brent Scowcroft Center on International Security at the Atlantic Council, joins host Paul Salem to discuss strategies for countering radicalization and violent extremism, and how national security policy will be shaped in the Trump administration.

The Perry World House and the American Academy of Political and Social Science jointly hosted a discussion with Richard Clarke (Penn '72), who edited the November 2016 volume of The ANNALS. The volume focuses on the topic of the Middle East, regional transition, and providing paths and priorities for the president and his administration. Malcolm Nance, the executive director of the Terror Asymmetrics Project on Strategy, Tactics, and Radical Ideology, moderated the discussion.

In incorporating Muslim minorities into the nation-state, Chinese policymakers have faced two sets of challenges: The first involves balancing ethno-religious diversity and national integration; and the second entails fostering enhanced connectivity to the outside world while at the same time consolidating CCP-state control over the public sphere. This essay examines the Chinese government's recent and current struggles to address these challenges.

From its periodic war games and firing off missiles as a show of strength, to the IRGC intelligence arm’s willfully arresting Iranian dual nationals to embarrass the president, the corps barley hides its intention to expose the limits of Rouhani’s power.

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Countering Terrorism

Launched in October 2016, MEI’s Countering Violent Transnational Movements project undertakes in-depth research and analysis into the region’s varied terrorist threats and their underlying drivers, including civil conflict; and ​seeks ​to propose effective policy responses. The project is led by MEI senior fellows Charles Lister and Alex Vatanka and is supported by a generous grant from the Carnegie Corporation of New York.​